Police suspect 'Bucket List Bandit' in Erie bank robbery

The Huntington Bank at West 12th and Pittsburgh Avenue in Erie was robbed at about 1:20 p.m. on Sept. 10. No one was hurt in the incident. The robber, a white male in his 50s, fled the scene.CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

Police searched Monday afternoon for a man accused of using a note to rob an Erie bank of cash, and the suspected robber could be a man known as the "Bucket List Bandit" and wanted in nine other states for similar crimes.

The robbery happened at about 1:20 p.m. Monday at the Huntington Bank, 2185 W. 12th St.

Police said the man walked into the bank with a note demanding money and indicating that the man had a gun. No gun was shown, however, according to Erie police.

The man walked out of the bank with an undisclosed sum of cash and was last seen heading east, possibly behind a nearby carwash, police said.

Erie and Millcreek Township police responded to the call and searched the area. The man was reportedly given a dye pack with the money, and the pack exploded after he left the bank, police said. Officers found some bills with dye on them, but they were unable to immediately locate the robber.

Surveillance footage has led Erie police to believe the robber is the so-called "Bucket List Bandit," who earned that nickname after passing a note to a bank teller in Roy, Utah. That note said he had just four months to live.

In addition to Utah, the man is wanted for robberies in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee.

No one has been hurt in the robberies, and police said in each that the man indicates he has a weapon but has not shown one.

The local robber was described as a white male in his 40s or 50s with thinning brown hair that was slicked back and a mustache. He was wearing a blue polo shirt with a breast pocket, bluejeans and white sneakers, and he was seen carrying a black folder with a large "L" on the front of it, police said.

Police suspect that the man may have some of the dye on him.

There have been five bank robberies in Erie County so far this year. No one has been charged in any of them.

Staff writer Sean McCracken contributed to this report.

TIM HAHN can be reached at 870-1731 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhahn.